Motorman&#39;s stool



L. e. FRA NZ. MOTORMANS STOOL.

I I APPLICATION FILED OCT. I3, 1920. 1,377,332, Patented May 10, 1921.

Ink/enfor- Zoaz's @1 2 72 z LOUIS G. FRANZ, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN W. FRANZ, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI;

MOTORMANS STOOL.

newness- To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, LoUIs FRANZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at St.

Louis, State of Missouri, have invented cer-' tain new and useful Improvements in Motor mens Stools, of which the follow ng 1s a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

The present invention is directed to improvements in motormens stools, and has for its object to provide a stool from whlch the jars incident to the travel of the car, especially when running over rough places such as rail intersections, frogs, and the like, will be entirely eliminated, said jars being absorbed by means of suitable springs coupled to the seat occupied by the motorman, the springs supporting the full welght of the motormans body. In the present embodiment of the invention the cushioning springs are preferably coiled suspension springs, the same expanding under the Weight supported thereby, andqu1ckly re-- covering from the sudden stresses imposed thereon when the vehicle encounters'rough spots in the road as indicated above. I do not of course wish to be restricted to any specific construction of spring or resilient shock-absorbing member, the basic idea involved being to interpose between the motormans seat and'the body of the stool (or equivalent support) a suitable cushioning spring or resilient member to absorb all shocks and eliminate all jars from whatever source derived. provement will be fully apparent from the following detailed description in connection with the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 represents an elevation of. the improved stool; Fig. 2 is a top plan with the seat removed; Fig 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 isan enlarged vertical sectional detail showlng the bottom fitting and the ball bearings for the stem or staff supporting the seat.v 7

Referring to the drawings, S, represents the body portion of the stool preferably composed of piping as shown. The body. proper may be said to comprise the legs l, four in number in the present example, d1sposed in pairs and in planes intersecting one another at right angles, adjacent legs being tied together at a suitable distance from the bottom by means of a flat strip or Specification of Letters Patent.

The advantages of the imband 2 disposed horizontally and serving as a rest for the motormans feet as well under stood in the art. 7 The ,upper ends of the legs are connected to a center hollow fitting or 7 Patented May 10, 1921. Application ffiled Qctober 13, 1920. Serial No. 416,628. 7

to the nipples 6 which are connected to the legs by the-elbows 7 The parts above described may be considered as constituting the body proper of the-stool. Coupled to the bottom of the fitting 3 is a vertical pipe or sleeve 8, the same extending to a point substantially opposite or slightly above the brace or band 2. Loosely traversing the fitting 3 and the sleeve. 8, and projecting a suitable distance above the fitting 3 is a at bular stem or hollow cylindrical staff or rod 9, the lower end of the stem being received by a hollow fitting orcross 10 closed at the bottom, said fitting being provided'with radiating nipples 11 to which are secured the elbows 12. In assembling the parts the fitting 10 is turned or adjusted so as to bring the several pairs of members 11, 12,inver, ticalalinement with the corresponding pairs of members 4, 5, the vertical legs of the Ts 5 being directly over the upturned ends of the elbows 12. To the Ts 5',and elbows 12 are secured the books 13, 13, respectively, each pair of hooks (13, 13,) being connected by a coiled expansion spring 14: as shown, the several springs being disposed parallel to one another and to the sleeve or pipe 8. The stem -9 traversing the fitting 3 and sleeve 8 passes loosely through a bushing a into the fitting'l0, the lower end of'jt'hestem terminating and being closed by a flanged plug or head9 resting on thefball bearings 15 deposited in suitable a 'inular race-ways it formed in the fitting and on the bottom faceof the flange of the plug (Fig. 4:). The upper end of the stem terminates in a square (or polygonal) head 27 to be received by a socket 16 on the bottom of the seat 17 the socket being set-screwed to the head to prevent withdrawal of the seat when the stool is pickedup or being moved. The seat coupled to the stem 9 is thus free to revolve about the axis of thestem as clearly obvious from the drawings.

- It will be seen from the foregoing that r stem 9 to the fitting 10, and from said 'fit- 'mens stools, but is applicable to other pieces ting to the springs 14 suspended from the of furniture such as book-keepers stools, oolrs 13,, the lower endsor" the springs, as. music stools, and chairs generally, or other reviously described, being coupled to the supports and seats not necessary to here ooks 13" secured to the elbows 12 leading enumerate. The details of construction of from the fitting 10. It follows therefore the stoolmay of course be changed in many 7 that the springs 14 sustain the entire weight particulars without involving a departure of. the person on the seat, and any jars or from the spirit of the invention. a shocks which the driver or motorman would Having described my invention, what I otherwise be subjected towith the passage claim is: i

= ofthe car over rough places are absorbed 1. In a stool of'the character described, a

by the springs, the ,samebeing'free to yield body portion, a central tube or sleeve deandexpand in the direction in which the pending therefrom, a .stem reciprocable in ,stresses are imposed thereon, and hence persaid sleeve. and projecting upwardly above 215 mitting the-driver to make his tripin com the body of the stool, a'seat secured to the 7 fort. "With any yielding and recovery of upper projecting end of the stem, a series of the springs, the stem 9 and the seat 17 carsprings depending from the body and dis riedthereby will simply reciprocate or play posed around the sleeve, a central fitting up and down, the body of the driver being coupled to the springs and forming a sup 20 thus 'cushioned as it were and suffering no port or bearing for the lower end of the discomfort. Inits reciprocations the stem stem and ball-bearings disposed within said 9 is guidedby the sleeve 8, the lower free fittin said stem being rotatable on the ballend of the latter bearing against the topof bearii igs.

the fitting 10 fora normal or contracted po- 2. A stool of the character described cornsition of'the springs 1 1, and hence operating prising a. body portion composed of two asa stop in the upward movement of thepairs 'oflegs disposed in intersecting vertifitting whenever the springs recover from cal planes, at center hollow fitting, connectany sudden stress, the-springs being noring members coupling said fitting to the a I mally, under sufficient tension to hold the upper terminals of the legs, and a band f fitting against the sleeve. Amaterial shortconnecting adjacent legs at suitable disi ening of the sleeves would probably be open tances above the bottoms thereof, in combito the objection that it would allow too much ,nation with a pipe or sleeve extending down- I latitude foriexpansion and contraction of ward from the fitting aforesaid, coiled eX-- hthe springs, and hence too much play up pansionsprings suspended from the conand downtothe stem 9 and seat 11 carried necting members aforesaid, a bottom spider thereby. In the present embodiment of the having arms radiating toward and coupled invention, each pair of oppositely disposed to the lower ends of the springs, a stem legs with its corresponding pair of springs looselytraversing the center hollow fitting is disposedin a-common vertical plane in; and sleeve and extending a suitable distance 4Q tersecting. the vertical plane of disposition above the fitting, a seat carried by the upper 1 7? ofthe' other pa r of legs and springs, this end of the stern,- the lower end of the stem arrangement leaving the arms of the spider being rotatably supported at the center of formed by the fitting 10, and the nipplesll the bottom spider-below the lower end of and elbows12 radiating therefroni,'disp0sed the sleeve, whereby the weight carried by A5. along the diagonals of the square joining the seat is communicated to the springs. thelegs 1,'or thesquare formedby the band In testimony whereof I afiix my signature 2, thereby leaving sufiicient room for the in presence of two witnesses. I m otorman to rest his feet on the band withi out fouling theaforesaid spider. This feav ture is a decided advantage in the construc Witnesses:

tion of the stool. The invention is, obxEMIL STAREK, fviouslynot to be limited to drivers or motor-" H. CALLoN.

LOUIS e. FRANZ. 

